Smoking reduction in adolescents : reduced smoking among adolescents in lower secondary professional education

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death in our society. The health benefits of smoking cessation are considerable and well-documented. However, quit rates in smoking cessation research, in which total abstinence is required, are disappointing. Therefore, alternative strategies for harm reduction, like smoking reduction, are emerging. In the present study, a ‘smoking reduction’ intervention; a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked a day among continuing smokers, has been introduced. Smoking reduction was studied among smoking adolescents, aged 14-16 years. These students all followed lower secondary professional education, as most smokers of this age are in this education level. This study involves a school-based intervention with a follow-up of four weeks, handling a single group pretest-posttest design